Normally this space is reserved for technical talk, but I was recently fortunate enough to attend Mil-OSS and wanted to take a moment to talk about the group.
First off, Mil-OSS is a working group, not a conference. There are presentations and talks, but this is a group of people coming together to work toward a common goal: increasing the adoption of Open Source Software (OSS) inside the Department of Defense. It runs the gamut of interested parties: end users who are deploying OSS solutions in the field to members of the defense technology industry to prominent OSS project members. The group has one overriding tenant: through the adoption of open source software and methods, the DoD can accomplish its primary mission while increasing capability and agility.
The key word here is work. As a working group, the sessions weren't typical presentations about OSS products or vendor chest-beating. The sessions focused on real world challenges and solutions from people who've worked through the issues. Data rights and license issues were discussed as legal barriers to entry for OSS. Working demos of in place OSS technology were shown off. Barcamp sessions discussing solutions for current problems on the ground had us kicking around questions and answers heading toward an architecture and solution. It was great to see folks from the office of ASD(NII) offering the policy level view. There were also inspirational presentations, Todd Huffman on his experiences in Afghanistan and Haiti using open source mapping projects to solve real issues was excellent.
We weren’t just talking about software. The mental shift to open source methodologies that promote a different means of acquiring software were discussed. Collaborative thinking applied to the current acquisition process can promote reuse of software and try to turn around the trend of rebuilding every program from scratch. It's a shift to get people thinking at the capability level and not the program level.
So is this just a bunch of Open Community Hippies (thanks to Matt Jonkman) trying to change the world and 'exchange bombers for bake sales'? Absolutely not. This is a savvy group of people who understand that open source software can meet the mission requirements of the DoD and bring the benefits of open source methods to the DoD. This isn't a pipe dream either. There are active projects out there that bridge the typical OSS world with the DoD. Forge.mil has already brought some of the collaborative processes to the DoD. Suricata is releasing a GPL'd next-gen IDS with backing from DHS and SPAWAR.
If you have a passion for OSS and familiarity with DoD communities, I'd urge you to check out Mil-OSS and bring your expertise to bear. If you come from one side or the other, like me primarily from the OSS world, it's a great opportunity to see what you can bring to the table. It's a great group of people working together for a worthwhile end. And don't stop with just Mil-OSS, there are a growing number of OSS and government conferences and groups out there.
It's open source people, contribute how you can where you can, that's what it's all about.
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